Kalukanda House – Our offer to you to stay in 2018

Do you have back to school blues after a heady Summer of fun? Maybe you will start to consider your sunshine breaks in 2018? This month’s update is a bit late as we have been finalising our offer to family, friends and friends of friends who may be interested in staying at our villa next year – READ ON TO SEE MORE.

If you haven’t already, DO follow our Facebook page @kalukandahouse – link at bottom of this post. I post more regular updates there, and you can see lots of photos plus videos to inspire you for a wonderful holiday in Sri Lanka.

The next and final 4 months is going to be really busy as the interior fit out commences, the landscapers are booked in for November and we have a target completion date of December 2017. I will be in Sri Lanka again multiple times overseeing these stages, and we have booked our own flights to stay at the house soon for the first time with guests. So the deadline is very much ON!

WHAT IS ON OFFER?

The whole villa is available from the final two weeks of February 2018.

Kalukanda House is our home and we plan to use it ourselves each year, so every part of the design considers what we want to have there. Your holiday comfort and privacy will be protected as much as we would want ours to be, there has been a lot of comfort built into the house!

In lieu of website and finished photos…

Kalukanda House is a 4 double bedroom villa that can sleep 8 generously and up to 10/12 people on additional pull out beds. There will be a deep and wide 12 meter pool opposite the house and indoor and outdoor dining and lounging areas. Teak loungers will be on a deck area by the pool and if you want a night time dip, plenty of garden uplighters will brighten your way. Life in Sri Lanka is geared towards being outside, but as an interior designer, I will be decorating the house as sumptuously as I do for all my clients. The house will be fully furnished with 4-poster beds in all bedrooms, each with en-suite shower rooms and air conditioning plus fans. Check out www.velvetorange.co.uk/#portfolio to get a flavour of the Velvet Orange award winning style that will be coming to Kalukanda House.

The living area is expansive with a double height ceiling keeping you cool and will include generous deep sofas, a large TV (with sports channels available amongst others) and a pool table.

There is a kitchen in the house for any cooks amongst you who would like to make your own meals, with a hob, cooker, Nespresso machine and fridge/cooler. Staff have their own separate accommodation and this includes another kitchen where any catering will be done for you.

The gardens will be lushly grassed and are being landscaped to include several Frangipanee trees and retaining a large number of the palms and some fruit trees that came with the original plot.

A manager will be available (who speaks good English) to help book taxis or excursions of any kind. We can help with airport transfers to/from the house if you need.

The villa will be completely private, with staff on site to tend to your every need and out of your way when not required. Breakfast is included in the price, and lunch/dinner can be prepared if you like (for the price of the ingredients only – this is just for friends and family in 2018).

We can also organise massages, yoga instruction and surf lessons amongst other things. Kalukanda House could be a single destination holiday where you can soak up sun and culture and completely un-hook yourselves from a hectic life. It could also be part of a wider tour of the island – spend a week at the house at the end or beginning of a trip exploring everything else the island can offer. We can put you in touch with some fantastic people to organise this for you.

Since Kalukanda House is so personal to us, we would love to help you organise the best stay in our villa. Whether it is a family holiday exploring the landscape and culture of this gorgeous island I am proud to call home or a special week away celebrating honeymoon, birthdays or precious time with friends we will personally help create a luxurious experience full of the things you want to do. If you have an idea in mind, let us know and we will do our best to help deliver it.

Flights from UK are readily available with a maximum 5.5 hour time difference.

Rates below

RATES

In 2018, the whole villa will be available at a rate of £300 per day (the only villa extra being ingredients for lunches and dinners and beer/wine). All excursions and airport transfers are extra but we can help you book them if you need a helping hand (no commission to us).

Minimum booking applies.

All bookings come through us directly.

(From late 2018, the house will be hosting surf and yoga retreats, so please do let us know if you want to make the most of these friends and family rates whilst they are ready available).

CONTACT

dee.gibson@velvetorange.co.uk

tel: +44 207 884 0530

VILLA PROGRESS UPDATE

With 4 months to go, we are on track to meet our completion deadline of December 2017.

We have gone from this in December 2016…

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to this in August 2017….

Outside, the columns are fleshing out and the original roof tiles are being re-instated. The exterior veranda will be tiled with stunning polished cement tiles, it has taken me ages to decide on the colour…you will have to wait and see! The gardens will be landscaped with lush green grass and gorgeous, scented Frangipanee trees dotted around..

Inside the walls have had a first coat of crisp white paint and the teak ceiling has been installed. The polished concrete floors in a soft, warm stone hue will be installed in the coming weeks. Shower rooms with modern, Grohe fittings are going in late September – photos will follow.

WHAT YOU CAN DO ON THE DOORSTEP?

A picture speaks a thousand words so here are a few Instagram posts (by others), just to show you how they see the place…

YOGA! I am a fan, and have been to a couple of amazing places where you can follow a class, or we can bring the experts to you..

A turtle sanctuary is nearby – you can visit and if you are lucky enough, watch them hatch and toddle down to the sea to start their lives in the water..

SURF, PADDLE, SWIM….

Fancy a few sundowners and nibbles along with some VERY cool tunes? W15 is one of my personal favourites..

The Kingfisher is a fun and hip place frequented by those in the know for a cooler late in the day..

UNESCO World Heritage site – Galle Fort is a gorgeous, fun tuk tuk ride away (I love this tuk tuk ride) – a great place to wander around for a mooch, shop, potter – a few lovely restaurants and bars are here too to stop off at any given moment..

LINKS

That’s it for this month. I will have plenty more photos to share with you on our Facebook Page and in next month’s newsletter. Follow the links below.